Method and apparatus for reclaiming effluent from a freeze-drying process, and uses for effluent

ABSTRACT

A system for reclaiming effluent from a freeze drying process has at least one condenser apparatus used during a freeze-drying cycle to collect effluent from material being freeze-dried, and a recovery reservoir positioned for collecting material from the condenser apparatus. The system is characterized in that ice crystals formed from the effluent are removed from the condenser after the freeze drying cycle into recovery reservoir to be re-used. Product systems include both freeze-dried material and the effluent collected during freeze drying.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of biological preservation ofbio-products including that of animal-based foods, botanical-basedfoods, herbs and other botanicals. The invention pertains particularlyto methods and apparatus for reclamation and later use of effluentsgenerated during a freeze-drying process for general-purpose use and foruse in reconstituting the dried product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of bio-preservation, one of the most successful andwell-known processes is the process of freeze-drying. Freeze-drying isthe process of freezing a product under a high vacuum to extract most ofthe moisture from the product and then by heating the same product undervacuum in a vacuum chamber to extract the small amount of moisture thatis left in the product.

The process of freeze-drying was originally implemented during World WarII as a method for preserving blood plasma and pharmaceuticals.Eventually it became a recognized method for preserving fruits,vegetables, and other commercially grown bio-products. More recently,freeze-dry methods are being used in a variety of technical fields fromchemical processing to producing super computer conductors.

The most common freeze-dry operations are those that process fruits,vegetables, herbs, and other consumables that are commerciallyavailable. The main purpose for employing the freeze-dry method is notan economic one, but rather that it is arguably the most successfulpreservation method for extracting water from a product wherein thecellular structure of the product is least damaged, allowing for betterreconstitution of the product to most closely resemble it's naturalstate before drying.

There are small, moderate, and very large commercial freeze-dryingsystems available and in commercial operation. Typically, companies thatprovide commercial freeze-drying services to other entities maintain thelargest commercial freeze-dry systems. Some utilize multiple (20 ormore) vacuum chambers each having a diameter equal to or greater than 6feet. These are the systems that usually can be contracted and work asbatch units drying multiple product batches simultaneously on a largecommercial scale.

The basic components of a freeze-dry system are a vacuum chambersupporting shelves for product placement, a condenser, a condenserrefrigeration unit, a vacuum pump for providing a vacuum in the chamber,and a heat-transfer/cooling system integrated, in most cases with theproduct shelves for temperature controlled heating and cooling.Freeze-dry systems are typically operated from a control panel thatprovides program control over, temperature, vacuum pressure, time, andso on. Different types of products require different measures of controlto produce the best result in freeze-drying. In some simpler cases thecondenser, which is in the chamber for collecting water vapor as ice, isnot equipped to be heated to melt the ice after a run, but the ice ismechanically removed, such as by chipping or scraping, or melted byspraying the condenser with water.

Production of wastewater, generally referred to in this specification aseffluent, is one aspect of the freeze-dry process, the wastewaterresulting from the moisture extracted from the products being dried. Theway the process works is that the product is frozen before undergoingvacuum. At higher vacuum levels the water in the frozen state isvaporized (sublimated) without entering a liquid stage by maintaining anunbalanced state between the ice and the temperature/vacuum conditions.The water vapor produced from the solid ice eventually forms on the muchcolder condenser as ice crystals. The condenser may take several formslike a coil system, a cone-shaped apparatus, an array of plates, and soon. The condenser is cooled using a refrigeration unit to a temperaturelower than the chamber temperature under vacuum causing the extractedvapor to collect on the condenser in the form ice crystals.

After freeze-dried product is removed and the temperature rises, the icecrystals typically melt and fall to the floor of the vacuum chamber(internal condenser) or condenser housing (if external) during a defrostoperation. Manual methods may be used to scrape or chip the ice, asdescribed also above; or water or other material, for example, may beused to melt the ice. The moisture is typically output from the systemas wastewater.

It has occurred to the present inventor that the wastewater produced byfreeze-dry operations could, if properly reclaimed, be used for manyinteresting, advantageous, and unique purposes, rather than beingdiscarded into the sewer system or dumped as a waste product.

Therefore, what is clearly needed are methods and apparatus forrecovering the effluent extracted from products that have been freezedried, and methods for use of recovered product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a system forreclaiming effluent from a freeze drying process is provided, comprisingat least one condenser apparatus used during a freeze-drying cycle tocollect effluent from material being freeze-dried, and a recoveryreservoir positioned for collecting material from the condenserapparatus. The system is characterized in that ice crystals formed fromthe effluent are removed from the condenser after the freeze dryingcycle into recovery reservoir to be re-used.

In one embodiment of the invention there are two recovery tanks and twocondensers arrayed as selectable pairs, the pairs alternately selectablefor effluent reclamation. Also in one embodiment there may be a heatingmechanism for heating the condenser to facilitate collection of theeffluent from the condenser. Also in an embodiment each condenser maycomprise a heating mechanism to facilitate collection of the effluentfrom the condenser.

In some embodiments the at least one condenser refrigeration and heatingunit has access to two transfer mediums, one for super cooling thecondenser, and another for supplying heat to the condenser. Also in someembodiments the transfer mediums may include Liquid Nitrogen, an Ammoniasolution, or Freons for cooling and Propylene, Lexol, Glycol, orGlycerin for heating.

In some cases the condenser refrigeration and heating units may haveaccess to two transfer mediums, one for cooling and one for heating, themediums including Liquid Nitrogen, an Ammonia solution for cooling andPropylene, Lexol, Glycol, or Glycerin for heating. Also in some casesthe at least one recovery tank may have a secondary vessel connectedthereto for storing effluent, the vessel insulated against freezingduring the freeze drying process.

In some embodiments the heating mechanism may be a steam generatorplumbed to the condenser. In some embodiments there may also be acompression filter for separating water from other components for steamgeneration. Still further, the ice crystals representing effluent drawnfrom a product being dried may collected on a selected condenser at theend of a freeze-dry run and may be heated by the steam generator viasteam injection causing the ice to melt off into the associated recoverytank wherein it may be pumped out of the tank.

In another aspect of the invention a method for reclaiming effluent froma freeze-dry system and converting the effluent into a useable producthas steps of (a) providing at least one water recovery tank under atleast one condenser unit of the system; (b) condensing vapor drawn froma product being dried in the system onto the condenser in the form ofice; and (c) collecting and melting the ice from the condensed after afreeze drying cycle to be reused.

In some embodiments of this method there are two recovery tanks and twocondensers arrayed as selectable pairs, the pairs alternately selectablefor water reclamation from a control station. Also in some embodimentscollecting is facilitated by a heating mechanism used to heat thecondenser. Further there may be two heating mechanisms, one unit foreach condenser.

In some embodiments the condenser may have access to two transfermediums, one for super cooling the condenser, and another for supplyingheat to the condenser. Also in some embodiments the transfer mediums mayinclude Liquid Nitrogen, an Ammonia solution, or Freons for cooling andPropylene, Lexol Glycol, or Glycerin for heating.

In some cases in step (a) of the method the at least one recovery tankmay have a secondary vessel connected thereto for storing effluent, thevessel insulated against freezing. In other embodiments in step (c)heating may be performed by a heat source delivery mechanism in the formof a steam generator plumbed to the at least one condenser. In yet otherembodiments there may also be a compression filter for separating waterfrom other components for steam generation.

In yet another aspect of the invention a freeze dried product system hasa freeze-dried material in one container, the material lacking effluentwater removed in the freeze drying process, and the effluent in a secondcontainer, the effluent collected from the material in the firstcontainer during the freeze-drying process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical architecture of afreeze-dry system according to prior art.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating architecture for a freeze-drysystem capable of wastewater recovery according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a filtering process performed onwastewater reclaimed from a freeze-dry operation.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating steps for recoveringwastewater from a freeze-dry operation according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating architecture for a freeze-drysystem capable of wastewater recovery according to an alternateembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating steps for reclaimingwastewater from a freeze-dry operation according to an alternateembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The inventor provides a freeze-dry system capable of wastewaterrecovery, such that the otherwise wasted water may be used foradvantageous purposes, the methods and apparatus thereof described inenabling detail below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a typical architecture of afreeze-dry system 100 according to prior art. As was described brieflyin the background section of this specification, a typical freeze-dryerof prior art comprises a vacuum chamber and shelves for holding product,a vacuum pump for chamber evacuation, a condenser for providing freezingof vapor sublimated from product, and a control station for initiationand control of the process.

System 100 has a vacuum chamber 101, serving as a chamber for housingthe product to be freeze-dried. Chamber 101 is formed in this example inthe general shape of a barrel having a diameter and depth, although theshape and size of the chamber may vary widely in different examples ofequipment. Chamber 101 in this example also has a plurality of productshelves 105 supported therein for the purpose of holding product duringprocessing. Shelves 105 in this example are arrayed horizontally inchamber 101.

The temperature within chamber 101 is primarily controlled by atemperature control unit 102. Unit 102 in this example has a heating andrefrigeration unit 104 and a heat transfer pump 103. Pump 103 pumps atemperature transfer medium through shelving 105, such as Lexol,Propylene, Glycol, or Glycerin. These mediums can be heated or cooled toexact temperature specification reducing drying time for products oversome more primitive systems. By maintaining an unstable condition withrespect to temperature change and vacuum, the freeze-dry process isenabled and optimized. Unit 102 is coupled to chamber 101 and shelves105 by inlet and outlet lines 107, which are adapted to carry thetransfer medium. Transfer tubing (not shown) is arrayed along theindividual shelves so that heating or cooling affects the product mostdirectly. Also, as described briefly above, in simpler cases heating maynot be employed.

System 100 in this example has an external condenser unit 108 providedthereto for the purpose of drawing moisture in the form of sublimatedvapor away from the product arrayed on shelves 105 during freeze-drying.Condenser 108 in many cases may be positioned within chamber 101, butthere are some advantages in some cases for external placement.Condenser 108 is cooled separately from chamber 101 by a condenserrefrigeration unit 111. Refrigeration unit 111 uses, for example,Freons, a solution of Ammonia or Liquid Nitrogen or the like to cool thecondenser apparatus, which may be a system of coils, plates, cones, orother apparatus. In this example, condenser 108 is positioned externallyfrom chamber 101, however in some systems the condenser is within thevacuum chamber itself. Unit 111 is connected to unit 108 by a transferline 112.

System 100 has a vacuum pump 109 provided to evacuate chamber 101,including the volume occupied by the condenser. Pump 109 is positionedin this example on the side of condenser 108 opposite from chamber 101,but could be interfaces elsewhere. System 100 is controlled from aprogram control station 110. Station 110 has control lines (106) leadingto the various components, namely to components 102, 101, 108, 111, and109. Station 110 provides system control over temperature inside chamber101 and condenser 108. Vacuum pressure and time of vacuum is controlledfrom station 110.

The prior-art system of this example lacks a capability for recoveringprocess effluent. Typically product supported on shelves 105 ispre-frozen before the freeze drying process ensues. By introducing ahigh vacuum and then regulating the temperature within the vacuumchamber moisture is extracted from the product in a first “primary”freeze-dry phase. During a second phase heat is typically introducedinto shelves 105 via unit 102 and a remaining small percentage ofmoisture remaining in the product is extracted under increased vacuum.The second phase functions typically to draw an additional 10-20% of theremaining moisture left in the product after the first stage. Forexample, for typical botanical products, most of the moisture is drawnout during the primary phase. The second phase draws out an additional10-20% of the remaining moisture in typical cases. A typical driedproduct is left with from 2-9% moisture content.

A typical run for a raw botanical material may have an initialfreeze-down phase of minus 30 degrees Celsius at normal atmosphericpressure for approximately 2 hours. An additional 4 hours may beincluded at the same temperature but with an initial vacuum pressure of0.3 mBar. A primary drying phase may last 18-24 hours at −10 degreesCelsius at a vacuum pressure of 0.2 mBar. The secondary drying phase maylast another 12 hours wherein the temperature is raised in the vacuumchamber to +30 degrees Celsius and the vacuum chamber is pumped furtherdown to 0.1 mBar.

Typically, effluent falls from the condenser as ice or water and runsout via a gutter system and onto the ground, or into a sewer inlet, forexample, as wastewater. If the condenser is housed within the productchamber then the wastewater typically falls to the floor of the productchamber and is guttered as runoff. An object of the present invention isto provide a method and system to successfully and economically reclaimthe wastewater for useful purposes.

In a simple embodiment of the present invention one or more collectorbasins are provided to capture the material formed on the condenser asice crystals. After a run in such a simple embodiment a basin is placedto collect material falling from the condenser, and ice may be scrapedor chipped from the condenser and allowed to fall in the collectorbasin. The basin may then be removed, the ice crystals allowed (orforced) to melt, and the resulting effluent saved for later use asdescribed in more detail below. In a variation of this process, one mayuse water to aid in the collection of the ice crystals from thecondenser, and in a further variation the water used may be effluentpreviously collected from a similar operation, so as not to inordinatelydilute the effluent being collected.

The inventors have recognized as well that contamination of the effluentin any form may be detrimental, so care has been exercised to avoidcontamination. To this end collection utensils and containers may besterilized, condensers may be cleaned on a regular basis, and sterilizedas well, either with heat application, steam application, or in somecases by application of sterilization agents, such as ozone or grainalcohol.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture for a freeze-drysystem 200 capable of efficient, and in some cases automated wastewaterrecovery according to an embodiment of the present invention. Some ofthe elements illustrated in this example are the same as elements ofFIG. 1. Those elements retain their original element numbers and are notre-introduced.

System 200 comprises vacuum chamber 101, product shelves 105,temperature control unit 102 including pump 103 andheating/refrigeration unit 104 as described in the prior-art example ofFIG. 1. System 200 in this more advanced embodiment, instead of usingjust one condenser, has 2 condensers, condenser 201 a and condenser 201b. Condensers 201 a and 201 b are similar to each other and to condenser108 described above, although this is not a limitation in the invention.Condensers 201 a and 201 b are, in this embodiment both positionedexternally to vacuum chamber 101 so that the condensers can separatelybe isolated from the vacuum chamber 101. A vacuum line between thechamber and each condenser has two isolation valves 204 a and 204 bprovided for the purpose of isolating one of the condensers 201 a or 201b for use during a run of product while the un-selected condenserremains idle and vented to atmospheric pressure. One may also isolateboth condensers from the vacuum chamber. Each condenser is thereforeaccessible through a separate vacuum path and condenser chambers may bealternated during sequential product runs. An identical configuration oftwo isolation valves 205 a and 205 b and vacuum lines (203) is providedat the condenser outputs connecting to a vacuum pump 207. Although it ispossible to run the system open with respect to valves 204 a and 204 bso as to include both condensers simultaneously in the path of vacuum,an important aspect here is to be able to isolate one condenser whileanother is engaged in freeze-dry operations.

Valves 204 a, 204 b, 205 a and 205 b are controlled from an enhancedprogram station 211 via control lines 206. Each condenser 201 a and 201b has a recovery tank provided, being tanks 209 a and tank 209 brespectively. Recovery tanks 209 a and 209 b are adapted as vessels tocollect recovered effluent from their respective. As such, tanks 209 aand 209 b are typically located directly beneath their respectivecondenser apparatus. Tanks 209 a and 209 b are at least partially openand adapted to catch ice and liquid falling from condenser apparatuslocated directly above. The size of openings for tanks 209 a and 209 bis at least great enough to enable collection of all of the ice that maycollect on condensers 201 a and 201 b respectively. Tanks 209 a and 209b may be manufactured from a durable polymer or a non-corrosive metal.Tanks 209 a and 209 b are also preferably connected for water transferby a water transfer line 210. Line 210 may be a PVC piping or copperpiping, or other non-corrosive metal piping.

By selective operation of valves 204 a, 204 b, 205 a and 205 b, one mayoperate the unit for freeze drying with one condenser being used tocollect effluent, with the other condenser isolates and open to air,such that effluent condensed in a previous cycle may be removed from thecondenser. The methods of removal may vary, as described above, fromsimply waiting for the ice to melt, to scraping ice from the condenser,or by using water or previously collected effluent to melt the ice fromthe condenser, or any combination of these and other techniques.

Each recovery tank 209 a and 209 b has, in one embodiment, a pumpmechanism (not shown) provided therein and connected to line 210. Inthis way effluent collected in tanks 209 a and 209 b may be pumped outof the tanks and out of the system to such as a filtering operationthrough line 210. In another embodiment, line 210 is a siphon line andwater collecting in tanks 209 a and 209 b is automatically siphoned outthrough line 210.

Each condenser unit 201 a and 201 b in an advanced embodiment may betemperature controlled by its own condenser refrigeration and heatingunit (CRHU). These are CRHU 202 a for condenser 201 a and CRHU 202 b forcondenser 201 b. CRHU 202 a has a bi-directional transfer line 212 athat connects it to condenser 201 a for the purpose of enabling transfercycling of a temperature control medium such as an Ammonia solution,Freons, or Liquid Nitrogen for cooling condenser 201 a. In thisembodiment, condenser 201 a may also be alternately heated by CRHU 202 ausing some other medium such as perhaps Lexol, Propylene, Glycol, orGlycerin described with respect to the example temperature control unit102 of FIG. 1 above. Likewise, CRHU 202 b has connection to condenser201 b using a bi-directional transfer line 212 b and is capable of bothheating and cooling. CRHUs 202 a and 202 b are controlled directly fromprogram station 211 via control lines 213.

Vacuum pump 207 is similar to vacuum pump 109 described with referenceto the prior-art example of FIG. 1 except for its configuration withrespect to inclusion of either condenser 201 a or condenser 201 b in itsvacuum path. Vacuum pump 209 has a filter trap 208 connected thereto atits outgas location. Filter trap 208 may be a charcoal or other suitabletype of filter adapted for filtering out volatile oil vapors before outgassing vapors into the atmosphere.

In this example, during a freeze-dry run, one condenser loaded with icecrystals from a previous run can be processed to collect effluent fromthe condenser while the other condenser is currently in use withoutinterrupting the freeze-dry cycle. An alternative to an automatedrecovery system as described herein is to manually remove the condenserice and let it fall into a recovery tank. This can be done whether ornot there are 1 or 2 active condensers, however it is time consuming andin the case of only one condenser in the system, forces unnecessary idletime for the overall system.

Using the system described in this embodiment, at the end of afreeze-dry cycle, freeze-dried product can be removed from chamber 101and the chamber can be reloaded with new product for a next run whileeffluent recovery is ongoing. The condenser that was involved in theprevious run can be isolated for processing while the idle condenser isswitched into the system for use during the current run. In this way notime is lost in freeze-drying products. The effluent recovery method ina preferred embodiment is automatic and can be programmed from station211 and does not require human intervention.

CRHU 202 a and CHRU 202 b are equipped in this advanced embodiment toalternately heat and cool by cycling an appropriate medium throughchannels in each condenser adapted for the purpose. When super cooling,Liquid Nitrogen may be used and when heating Propylene may be used, forexample. It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that othersolutions and gasses can be used as well. The effluent reclaimed fromthe condensers in system 200 comprises approximately 95% of the moistureextracted from product. Recovery line 210 leads out of system 200 andinto a filtering process that is described more fully below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a filtering process 300 performedon effluent reclaimed from the freeze-dry operation of system 200according to one embodiment of the present invention. Process 300 beginswith effluent that is collected from the freeze-dry operation andsiphoned or pumped into a large holding tank 301. A directional arrowleading into tank 301 represents effluent siphoned or pumped in from thefreeze-dry system through line 210 described with reference to FIG. 2above. Effluent in tank 301 is then pumped into a 4-stage microporefilter 302. Filter 302 is adapted to remove any solids and anymicroorganisms from the effluent using four graduated stages. The laststages remove most of any microorganisms that may be present. Filter 302removes particulate matter, any parasitic organisms, rust, and anyunwanted chemical agents. Micropore filter 302 acts as a sieve and doesnot become clogged. The sizes of the filtering pores are very small downto 2 microns in diameter or width if slots are provided. The materialfor the filtering media can be a rigid ceramic and various stages mayalso include other media like charcoal, etc. In place of filter 302,other types of filtering apparatus may be used such as micro membranefilters or ultra pore filtering techniques. Various filter types andmaterials are readily available to and known to the inventor.

After filtering, the effluent optionally passes through an ozonator,which effectively kills any remaining microorganisms. For the purpose ofgeneral use and reconstitution of dried products, the filteringtechniques are adequate for certification of the effluent as a humanconsumable product. The type of filtering used preserves the essence or“message” of the effluent from the dried product and does not introduceany chemicals or other foreign entities into the effluent. The resultingeffluent is clear and consumable.

A testing facility 304 is provided in line after filtration to ensurethe proper performance of filtering equipment and timely maintenance offilter components. Testing facility 304 may be a small lab containerinto which filtered effluent is diverted in a periodic sampling mode.Tests performed include tests that detect the presence of anyparticulate matter, microorganisms, certain chemicals, and so on.

After the effluent is completely filtered, it is pumped into a bottlingfacility 305 where individual bottles or “packs” of product effluent arefilled and sealed as is the process for normal packaging of water andother liquid products. The filtering apparatus described herein can beconsidered part of the overall effluent-recovery system 200 in that thereclaimed effluent is processed in full automation until it is packagedand sealed.

The benefits of recovering effluent from the freeze-drying process arenumerous. One primary benefit is that costs associated withfreeze-diving can be reduced by also marketing the reclaimed effluentfor such as, for example, general consumption or for productreconstitution. For example, a system that is dedicated to processingstrawberries will produce “berry water” that contains the naturalcomponent signature of the product from which it was extracted. Afurther advantage is that the consumer now may understand that thepackage he or she receives includes all of the product that went intothe freeze drying process.

Empirical testing has shown that effluent taken from different productswill crystallize according to differing patterns. These patterns arelargely the same for effluent taken from a same type product. Someimplied benefits, although not proven scientifically, can be at leastreasonably and logically applied in creation of a new market ofconsumers for the reclaimed effluent. For example, it is more probablethat a freeze-dried rose will reconstitute better and faster if thewater used to reconstitute it was originally reclaimed from the batch ofroses that was dried. Likewise, freeze-dried mother's milk willlogically reconstitute better using the original effluent than it willusing tap water, which may introduce a host of chemicals and othersubstances that were not part of the original formula.

For human consumption on a general basis, effluent can be made availablefrom a variety of fruits, herbs, and medicinal plants. Such effluent,void of foreign chemicals or particulate, can be marketed as certified“organic water”, for example, that can be provided in as many varietiesas there are consumable products for freeze-drying.

Still another benefit of recovering effluent from a freeze-dryingoperation is that mathematically speaking, the source of the effluent isan untapped natural resource rather than being taken from existing“out-of-body” water supplies like reservoirs, streams, and the like, orfrom water processing plants that supply tap water in urban systems.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram 400 illustrating steps for recoveringeffluent using freeze-dry system 200 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. At step 401, the end of a current freeze-dry cyclehas occurred. This means that the product inside the vacuum chamber isready to be unloaded and new product can be loaded at step 402.

At step 403, the condenser which was not involved in the just-ended runis selected and activated to begin a new freeze-dry cycle bymanipulating the vacuum valves from a program station analogous to theprocess described with respect to FIG. 2 above. This may be doneautomatically in some cases and manually in others. At step 404 a newproduct run is started.

At step 405, the now idle condenser unit is selected for the purpose ofcollecting effluent from the previous run. The idle condenser is ofcourse isolated from the vacuum path of the system. It is assumed thatvacuum pressure is brought up to atmosphere before opening the condenserchamber.

At step 406 the auxiliary condenser refrigeration and heating unit(CRHU), if there is one, connected to the condenser selected at step 405is activated for a quick defrost operation. At step 407, a heatedtransfer medium is cycled through the condenser to be defrosted. Thisstep may be part of an automated timed sequence, or may be manuallyinitiated by a person operating from a control station analogous tostation 211 described with reference to FIG. 2. Moreover, all of thesteps of this process can be programmed for timed automatic sequencing.If there is no heating unit ice may be scraped or otherwise manuallyremoved from the idle condenser.

At step 408, the ice crystals formed on the condenser in the previousrun fall into a recovery tank analogous to tanks 209 a and 209 bdescribed with reference to FIG. 2. As the effluent fills the recoverytank, in systems equipped to do so it is pumped or siphoned out of thetank before the next product run at step 409. This is because anyeffluent left in the recovery tank after a run will refreeze once thecondenser is again utilized for super cooling in the following run. Atstep 409 the reclaimed effluent may be pumped to a filtering processidentical or similar to the process described with reference to FIG. 3above. Step 409 resolves back to step 401, the end of a current run. Theprocess may loop repeatedly as long as the system is in use.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the steps ofprocess 400 can be initiated on demand from a control station, orprogrammed to execute automatically as a looping sequence according totime parameters. In one embodiment water recovery tanks may be fittedwith a second insulated vessel held below the open portion of the tankso that effluent need not be pumped out after every run. In thisembodiment effluent falling into the tank is drained into a lowerinsulated vessel and the effluent therein remains in a liquid state evenduring a super-cooling phase of the condenser. In this embodimenteffluent need only be pumped out to filtering when the lower vessels arefull. If lower vessels are used they can be insulated so as not totransform heat to the condenser or chamber area and can be maintained ata temperature of just above freezing by a heating system similar totemperature control unit 102 described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating architecture for a freeze-drysystem 500 capable of effluent reclamation according to yet anotherembodiment of the present invention. System 500 is identical to system200 except for components used to defrost the condensers. Componentsillustrated herein that were formerly introduced with respect todescription of the example of FIG. 2 above shall not be re-introducedand shall retain their original element numbers.

Instead of having a separate condenser refrigeration and heating unit(CRHU) as described further above with regard to system 200, system 500has just one condenser refrigeration unit (CRU) that does not requireheating capability. CRU 501 is largely analogous in design and functionto unit 111 described with reference to system 100 of FIG. 1. The onlydiffering aspect is that unit 501 is responsible for cooling bothcondenser 201 a and condenser 201 b. CRU 501 is connected to condensers201 a and 201 b by a pressurized transfer line 502. It may be assumedthat line 502 has a valve (not shown) for path diversion so that CRU 501may be selectively employed to cool one or the other condenser at atime.

Vacuum pump 207 has a compression filter (CF) 502 connected thereto atan outgas location. CF 502 is capable of separating volatile oil vaporsfrom water vapors by compressing them into liquids and using a filterseparation technique to separate the water from undesirable vapors likevacuum oil vapors. In this alternate embodiment, filtered effluent takenfrom vapor output of vacuum pump 207 is pumped into a steam generator503 via a pressurized transfer line 507. Steam generator 503 heats thewater to steam under pressure.

Generator 503 is connected to condenser units 201 a and 201 b by way ofa pressurized transfer line 504. Transfer line 505 has a valve, notshown, for path divergence so that steam may be selectively injectedinto condenser 201 a or into condenser 201 b. Generator 503 collectsenough water during a freeze-dry run to provide sufficient steam forquick de-icing of an idle condenser loaded with ice crystals. The meltedice crystals fall into the associated recovery tank as previouslydescribed above with respect to the description of the system of FIG. 2and are pumped out to filtering. Small amounts of contaminant that maybe borne in the steam used to defrost a condenser are filtered out usinga system similar or identical to that described with reference to FIG. 3above.

The system and process described herein though an alternate embodimentnonetheless achieves the goal of quick defrost of an idle condenserwhile the other condenser is super cooled during a current product run.The only reason that system architecture 200 may be preferred oversystem architecture 500 is that there is no exposure of reclaimedeffluent to any elements out gassed during vacuum that may be introducedin the steam of system 500. However, with state-of-art elementfiltration virtually all of the out-gassed elements that are undesiredcan be trapped before steam generation occurs. Compression filter 502,generator 503, and CRU 501 are controlled from station 211 by controllines 506.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram 600 illustrating steps for recoveringwastewater from freeze-drying system 500. The first 4 steps of thisprocess are identical to the first 4 steps described with reference toprocess 400 of FIG. 4 above. At step 601 the end of a current productrun occurs. At step 602 the dried product is removed and a fresh batchof product is placed in the vacuum chamber for a next run. At step 603the condenser not used in the previous run is selected and activated forthe next run. At step 604 the new run is initiated.

At step 605 a steam generator analogous to steam generator 503 describedwith reference to FIG. 5 is activated. As previously described, steamgenerator 503 has collected water from the outgas compression filter 502during the previous run and has the water stored and ready for steamgeneration. At step 605, steam is generated under pressure.

At step 606 the condenser involved in the last product run (currentlyidle) is selected for defrost. At step 607, the generated steam isinjected into the condenser unit to quickly defrost the ice crystalsfrom the last run while the current run is proceeding using the othercondenser. At step 608, the ice melts and falls into a recovery tank aspreviously described with reference to process 400 step 408. At step 609the collected effluent is pumped to filtering as previously describedwith reference to process 400 step 409.

It is noted herein that the steam generation process does not useforeign water, but rather the effluent that escapes into the vacuum pumppast the condenser. Any undesirable vapors have been trapped in thecompression filter. Any remaining foreign elements are filtered outduring the filtering process described with reference to FIG. 3 above.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that reclaiming theeffluent from freeze drying creates new markets for general use and forlater product reconstitution. It will also be apparent that the processof effluent reclamation can be accomplished efficiently without causingany time delays in commercial or private freeze-drying operations. Largecommercial systems that continually cycle batches of a same product canrecover a percentage of their operating costs by reclaiming andmarketing the effluent instead of letting it go to waste. When a systemswitches to another product for freeze drying that is different from thelast product in the system, a system cleaning operation can be performedto remove traces of the last product if the bio constituents between theproducts do not agree in terms of the effluent reclaimed from theprocess. For example, if a system is freeze-drying mother's milk overseveral runs and the system is scheduled for freeze-drying strawberriesnext, the system would be cleaned before starting the first run of theberries. The system of the invention creates new products and consumersnot before existing in the market.

It will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there are manyalterations that might be made to embodiments of the invention describedabove without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, there are many ways that reclaimed effluent may be packageswith freeze dried product for sale to consumers, and only a few havebeen described. The present invention should be afforded the broadestpossible consideration in light of the varied embodiments and productpossibilities, some of which have already been described. The spirit andscope of the present invention should be limited only by the claims thatfollow.

1. A system for reclaiming effluent from a freeze drying process,comprising: at least one condenser apparatus used during a freeze-dryingcycle to collect effluent from material being freeze-dried; and arecovery reservoir positioned for collecting material from the condenserapparatus; characterized in that ice crystals formed from the effluentare removed from the condenser after the freeze drying cycle intorecovery reservoir to be reused.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein thereare two recovery tanks and two condensers arrayed as selectable pairs,the pairs alternately selectable for effluent reclamation.
 3. The systemof claim 1 further comprising a heating mechanism for heating thecondenser to facilitate collection of the effluent from the condenser.4. The system of claim 2 wherein each condenser comprises a heatingmechanism to facilitate collection of the effluent from the condenser.5. The system of claim 3 wherein the at least 1 condenser refrigerationand heating unit has access to two transfer mediums, one for supercooling the condenser, and another for supplying heat to the condenser.6. The system of claim 5 wherein the transfer mediums include LiquidNitrogen, an Ammonia solution, or Freons for cooling and Propylene,Lexol, Glycol, or Glycerin for heating.
 7. The system of claim 4 whereinthe condenser refrigeration and heating units have access to twotransfer mediums, one for cooling and ore for heating, the mediumsincluding Liquid Nitrogen, an Ammonia solution for cooling andPropylene, Lexol, Glycol, or Glycerin for heating.
 8. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the at least one recovery tank has a secondary vesselconnected thereto for storing effluent, the vessel insulated againstfreezing during the freeze drying process.
 9. The system of claim 3wherein the heating mechanism is a steam generator plumbed to thecondenser.
 10. The system of claim 9 further including a compressionfilter for separating water from other components for steam generation.11. The system of claim 9 characterized in that the ice crystalsrepresenting effluent drawn from a product being dried are collected ona selected condenser at the end of the freeze-dry run and are heated bythe steam generator via steam injection causing the ice to melt off intothe associated recovery tank wherein it is pumped out of the tank.
 12. Amethod for reclaiming effluent from a freeze-dry system and convertingthe effluent into a useable product comprising steps of: (a) providingat least one water recovery tank under at least one condenser unit ofthe system; (b) condensing vapor drawn from a product being dried in thesystem onto the condenser in the form of ice; and (c) collecting andmelting the ice from the condensed after a freeze drying cycle to bereused.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein in step (a) there are tworecovery tanks and two condensers arrayed as selectable pairs, the pairsalternately selectable for water reclamation from a control station. 14.The method of claim 12 wherein in step (c) collecting is facilitated bya heating mechanism used to heat the condenser.
 15. The method of claim14 wherein there are two heating mechanisms, one unit for eachcondenser.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the condenser has accessto two transfer mediums, one for super cooling the condenser, andanother for supplying heat to the condenser.
 17. The method of claim 16wherein the transfer mediums include Liquid Nitrogen, an Ammoniasolution, or Freons for cooling and Propylene, Lexol, Glycol, orGlycerin for heating.
 18. The method of claim 12 wherein in step (a) theat least one recovery tank has a secondary vessel connected thereto forstoring effluent, the vessel insulated against freezing.
 19. The methodof claim 14 wherein in step (c) heating is performed by a heat sourcedelivery mechanism in the form of a steam generator plumbed to the atleast one condenser.
 20. The method of claim 19 further including acompression filter for separating water from other components for steamgeneration.
 21. A freeze dried product system, comprising: afreeze-dried material in one container, the material lacking effluentwater removed in the freeze drying process; and the effluent in a secondcontainer, the effluent collected from the material in the firstcontainer during the freeze-drying process.